With the proliferation of voice assistants, speakers and microphones are essential components in billions of smart devices that people interact with on a daily basis, such as smartphones, smart watches, smart speakers, home appliances, etc. By transferring them into acoustic radars, we have successfully demonstrated the possibility of extending their primary use from simple audio playing and voice-based interactions to multifarious sensing applications, including gesture tracking, vital sign monitoring, and eye blink detection. In this proposal, I will introduce how we solve the fundamental technical challenges and practical real-world problems, which not only resolve existing system limitations but also facilitate the creation of new applications. In particular, I will present how we develop novel theories to address the common issues for acoustic sensing in multi-target tracking and long-range sensing. Then I will demonstrate our work that applies acoustic sensing techniques to enable new applications, i.e., "listening" to your hand gestures using smart speakers. At last, I will share our insights into the practical problems encountered when transitioning acoustic sensing systems from laboratory settings to real-world environments.
Advisor: Jie Xiong